In Time All Things Can Change
by aussie-chick-13
Summary: Tonight was not a good night for the Scorpia assassin known as Xander. He was told there would be one sleeping target, not three very awake SAS soldiers. The actual second chapter is up now
1. Chapter 1

_I've been thinking about this for a while, and decided to write it down. My god it wasn't fun sometimes. By the way the name 'Xander' comes from me trying to find a good name for Alex to use if he stayed with Scorpia. While I did use it in At Peace the fics aren't related. You know so Alexander can either be shortened to 'Alex' or 'Xander'. Just thought I'd explain…. Anyways fic time! Yay!_

Tonight was not a good night for the Scorpia assassin known as Xander. To be fair it wasn't his fault, he had been given shoddy information. He had been told that this would be a quick job, just in, finish the assignment and out. There was no real sneaking around needing nor was he required to steal anything while he was at it. There was no need for him to make the death look staged or pass the blame on to someone. He didn't even have to make it obvious that Scorpia was behind it. The only thing he had to make sure was that the target was awake, so he knew why this was happening. But really all in all, a very simple job. At least in theory.

Fox clapped Wolf on the shoulder laughing.

"And then there was that, er, _incident_, in Barbados. Remember Eagle? My god I have never heard a man scream in such a high octave in my life!" Wolf shoved Fox's hand off his shoulder as the other three men burst into laughter.

"This isn't fair! You're all picking on me! What about Fox in Greece?" Wolf smirked as the team's attention was turned off of him and focused on Fox. He caught the waitress's attention and waved her over.

"Can we get another round? Thanks," Wolf asked politely. The red head blushed and picked up the men's now empty bottles. He stared after her for a couple of seconds.

"Awww, look at the Wolfman! Still charming all the ladies, I see" Eagle said throwing his arm around Wolf's shoulder. The older man rolled his eyes.

"Leave it alone Eagle,"

Snake frowned suddenly, looking up from the table.

"Do you guys remember Cub?" The other three men turned to Snake, surprised.

"Yeah the blonde kid from ages ago, why?" Eagle asked.

"Huh I was just wondering. He trained with us, what? Five, six years ago? I was just thinking about how old he would be now, you know. Hell, if he's even still alive," Snake went back to staring at the table. The good mood dissipated quickly from the group. Fox frowned, Alex had been fifteen the last time Ben had seen him. So now he was…

"Nineteen almost twenty now I guess," he said quietly.

"Shit, he was only fourteen when he trained with us?" Wolf remarked quickly. Eagle remained silent as the others talked. He still felt pretty guilty about being so cruel to Cub when he was training with the unit. Snake stood up.

"I gotta go guys. It's already twenty past twelve and I have a shift at the hospital tomorrow morning," The others nodded.

"See ya Dave," Wolf said before turning back to Fox and Eagle.

"You guys crashing at my place again?"

"Er yeah that ok?" Fox asked.

"Yeah me too there's no way I'm gonna make it home," Wolf nodded.

"It's fine, let's go," they each threw a few bills on the table to pay for the drinks and then left.

Xander sat on the train, it wasn't that he didn't have money for a cab he sometimes just chose to walk, or take the tube. It made him feel normal to a degree. He absentmindedly changed the song on his iPod and smiled at the cute brunette sitting opposite him. He relished these moments, times where he could briefly forgot about his work. But they never lasted long. Xander picked up his bag and stood up, swaying slightly as the train pulled to a stop. He stepped out onto the platform and threw his bag over his shoulder. The young man ran through his checklist as he jogged across the street. Gun? Check, one on his hip another strapped to his thigh. Knife? Check, one on his ankle and one on his belt. Lockpick? Check, back right pocket of his jeans. Phone? Check, left pocket of his jacket. Cover in case he got stopped by police? Check, in his backpack. He cut down a side alley next to the target's apartment. It was dark but Xander could see a way up if he could just get up onto the platform, from there he could climb the ladder leading up the side of the building to the roof. He threw his bag up and took a couple of steps run up before jumping. He managed to get a handhold on the edge of the platform. Scrambling up he wiped his hands on his jeans and looked around to make sure that no one was there and had seen him. He tested the ladder; once he was sure it was stable he started climbing up.

Wolf had finally managed to get the door open in dark and the three men were now chatting in the living room of Wolf's apartment. They hadn't drunk that much and were still pretty alert. Eagle had drawn the short straw and was sitting on the floor while Fox sat next to Wolf on the couch. Some random action movie was playing but none of them were really watching it. They were just talking.

Xander crouched silently on the windowsill, one hand was keeping him from falling to his death, the other using a knife to jimmy the simple window latch open. He almost had it….there. He winced as the latch flicked open with an audible click. He waited for almost ten minutes to be sure that the target wasn't awakened. Once he was sure the young man gently opened the window and slipped inside. All when well until just as he turned to close the window a gust of wind blew through and the window slammed shut, loudly.

"Shit," Xander whispered. Normally he didn't swear but this wasn't good. He looked around quickly and jumped into a tiny room that looked like a laundry. He pressed himself against the wall hoping nothing would happen. But tonight was not Xander's lucky night.

Wolf jumped up at the sound of something slamming. He turned to Eagle with an eyebrow raised.

"Still gonna tell me it's just a cat?" Eagle shook his head.

"Course not, I'm not dumb,"

"Well that's debateable," muttered Fox. Wolf snickered as Eagle glared at Fox.

Xander was not happy, he was hearing voices from another room. Which meant three things; 1, his target was not asleep, 2, he wasn't alone and 3, there was an informant out there that he needed to kill.

Wolf listened for a while before turning to the other two.

"I think it's a person, I reckon they're still here hiding somewhere," he whispered. Eagle stood up quietly.

"Yeah well they picked the wrong place to rob," Wolf gestured to the cabinet that held two handguns.

"You guys take those, just in case. Follow me," Wolf walked out of the living room and into the hallway that lead to the bedroom, bathroom and laundry, right at the end. The window at the end of the hallway was unlocked and every so often banging open and closed. Wolf continued to the end of the hallway and stuck his end out of the window checking for someone in the street. Seeing no one he closed the window and relocked it.

Xander risked moving to peer out of the thin gap between the door and the wall. After the man closed the window and locked it he turned around. Xander gasped and stumbled backwards kicking over what sounded like an empty bucket. God damn, it was Wolf. Shit. This was not good. He stepped in to the shadows behind the door again.

Wolf's head snapped around at the sound of a bucket being kicked over. Someone was hiding in his laundry. He cautiously reached out a hand and started pushing the door open.

Xander bit his lip and forced himself to get ready. He needed to get out of there as fast as possible. If they caught him… Better to not even think about it. As the door started to open he watched the shadows on the floor. As Wolf stepped in the door the light from the hallway was broken and Xander slammed his body against the door, smashing it into Wolf's face. He heard a satisfying crack of the older man's nose breaking. In an instance the blonde was out of the tiny room and by the window. Damn Wolf had locked it, Xander didn't have time for this. He raised his foot to kick out the window but got wrenched back and thrown onto the floor before he could. He looked up to see Wolf's bloodied face and now-crooked nose.

"Brat," the older man growled. Xander just rolled his eyes and violently lashed out straight up with his leg into a particularly sensitive spot on his opponent. Wolf fell over moaning in pain. Xander flipped back onto his feet and moved over to the window again.

"Hey kid!" he turned instinctively to the shout. The shots came so fast he didn't even have time to move. He was hit twice once in his shoulder and another in his stomach. He was spun around and fell to the ground only just managing not to scream in pain.

"Son of a bitch," Xander coughed. Eagle ran to help Wolf as Fox keep his gun trained on the blonde. Fox nudged the would-be-robber with his foot moving the kid onto his back.

"Holy shit. Alex?" Fox gasped. The kid glanced at him quickly before coughing out a laugh.

"Just my fucking luck," he muttered. Wolf and Eagle watched the quick exchange obviously confused.

"Ben you know this kid?" Eagle asked. Fox looked at the boy lying on the ground struggling to get his breath back.

"Yeah, or at least, I did,"

_Quick note. Right now this is a one shot. I do have a vague idea of where this story could go, but I'm also quite happy to leave it as a oneshot. It's all up to you guys. Please review with whether you want it to continue, or advice, or possible future storylines. Anything…seriously…It makes me feel loved. :D_


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry when I posted what I thought was this chapter last night it was 2am and I obviously made a mistake. However, I don't think thats reason to call me 'dum' (I assume you meant dumb). Whoever you were, you know who you are. That's totally uncalled for. Just don't.

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_Ok the response was really good! I got 22 alerts, 9 faves and 21 reviews (as of now). So let's aim for 22 reviews (yeah? Maybe? :D) This probably isn't going to answer any of the questions raised in the last chapter, but I am trying to make this as realistic as possible. Which reminds me, yeah Fox shooting the 'would-be-robber' was a bit sudden and uncalled for. But…er…. Yeah I have no excuse for that. P.S. Alex and K-Unit are grown men i.e. they swear, just warning you._

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"_Ben you know this kid?" Eagle asked. Fox looked at the boy lying on the ground struggling to get his breath back._

"_Yeah, or at least, I did,"_

Fox looked down at Alex Rider. What the hell had happened? Ben knew the kid hadn't been happy the last time he'd seen him but, this? The kid moved slightly on the floor. Suddenly Ben realised that he'd shot Alex twice, but there was no blood anywhere.

"How are you not bleeding?" he asked. The boy rolled his eyes.

"It's calling Kevlar, but it still hurts like a bitch,"

"What do you mean? You're not wearing body armour,"

"My jacket's bulletproof, to an extent," Ben raised his eyebrows, he'd heard about some stuff like that but it was expensive. Really expensive. Where had the kid gotten the money? Just as he was about to ask Alex cut him off.

"Why the fuck did you shoot me anyway?" Ben shifted uncomfortably under Alex's gaze.

"I…you had a gun, which reminds me," Ben said bending down to take the gun he had seen on Alex's hip away. After checking the safety was on he threw across the floor behind him. While Fox was watching the kid, Eagle had moved Wolf to the kitchen and got him an ice pack. Wolf was still seriously pissed off. Eagle gave him the phone.

"You should call David, I'm not quite sure what to do about your nose," Wolf sighed and nodded.

"Bring the kid in here. I want to know how Ben knows him," He said typing in Dave's number.

Eagle walked back out into the hallway and said a few whispered words to Ben, keeping a wary eye on the kid. Ben nodded and Eagle returned to Wolf.

"Get up," Ben barked. Xander got up slowly cradling his sore arm against his chest. The other arm slowly went behind his back and grabbed the knife he had there. As he stood to his feet he stumbled forward slightly. As he had hoped Ben's first thought was still to see if he was alright. He let down his guard for just long enough for Xander to slash out with the knife at Ben's arm. The older man let out a cry of pain and dropped the gun. Xander watched him carefully.

"I'll be leaving now," he said with a smile. _ Not if I can help it. _Ben thought as he kicked out catching the kid in the side. Xander span around and immediately went on the offensive. Ben only just managed to get his arms up in time to protect his head from Alex's punches. Somehow when Ben threw a punch just to try and get Alex to back off, he hit him in the temple. Xander felt the hit connect and it hurt, a lot. He tried to kick out at Ben again but he could feel himself drifting into unconscious and something that felt suspiciously like blood was trickling down the side of his face. He lashed out once more with his fist but saw Ben dodge it easily as he collapsed into darkness. Ben held a hand against the cut on his arm as he watched Alex collapsed. He didn't like hurting the kid, but something told him that if he hadn't stopped him Alex would've caused some serious damage. Eagle stood near the door, he had hesitated to get involved because there was so little room in the hallway.

"Jake, help me pick him up," Eagle stepped forward and picked up the kid's legs and him and Ben carried Alex to the kitchen.

"Yeah, hurts like hell…. No…. Yes…. Okay, see you then," Wolf hung up and glanced at Eagle and Fox carrying in the kid.

"What happened?"

"The kid pulled a knife on Ben," Eagle asked as they lay Alex on the rug. Fox immediately pulled off Alex's jacket and tossed it to Wolf.

"That's bulletproof. I don't know where he got the money for it and besides that stuff is rare. Even Special Ops don't use it commonly," Eagle had found the second knife strapped to the kid's ankle he handed it to Fox and finished checking for other weapons. Satisfied he stood up.

"The kid,"

"Alex," Ben said sharply. Eagle held up his hands.

"Ok ok, _Alex_ has another gun strapped to his leg, but unless he gets undressed he can't get it," Eagle paused and looking at Alex's shoulder carefully. He crouched down and pushed his t-shirt sleeve up revealed a tattoo of a scorpion across the kid's shoulder and the letters 'J.R.' above it.

"Ben… Was the Alex you knew the type to get tattoos?" Fox frowned and shook his head.

"I doubt it. Let me see," he knelt down next to Eagle and looked at the tattoo. Fox was speechless.

"I…he…," Eagle looked at him, concerned.

"What is it? Does it mean something?"

"Scorpia," Fox got up and rubbed a hand over his face. "This isn't good," Wolf stood up from the table.

"As in Scorpia the terrorist organisation? As in that Scorpia? Ben how the hell do you know a _kid_ involved with Scorpia?" Ben glared at him.

"When I knew him he was working for MI6. You knew him too Wolf, you idiot," Ben snapped. Wolf just stared at him.

"What? I never knew a-," Wolf looked sick. "Oh god…. Cub?" He said staring at the unconscious youth, Fox just nodded. After a few moments of awkward silence Eagle spoke up.

"Hey guys I think he starting to come around," Fox looked to Wolf.

"What should we do?"

"Grab a chair, tie his hands," Eagle obviously didn't look happy but followed Wolf's orders anyway.

Xander vaguely felt himself being moved, but everything was still too dark. Slowly the black began to fade, memories quickly came back to him.

Wolf was the target.

But Ben and Eagle had been there as well.

He tried to bring a hand to his face to rub his eyes.

His hands were tied.

He'd been caught.

Xander didn't think Ben had recognised him but his recall was still a bit dodgy, better to play the pissed off Scorpia agent for now. He blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. He flexed his wrists again against the bonds and then looked up at the three men standing around him. Well, two actually, Wolf was sitting at the table opposite him, glaring past the ice pack pressed to his face. Xander coughed a couple of times before beginning.

"Look guys, I'm sorry but I just don't swing that way. And besides bondage?" Xander sighed. "You know it just doesn't do it for me," He flashed a cocky smile. He saw Wolf clench his jaw in barely concealed anger. Throwing the icepack down the unit leader stood up and walked around the table.

"Cut the crap Cub we know it's you," he snarled. Ok then Ben had recognised him. He smiled again.

"Still expect me to be shit scared of you Wolf?" Xander laughed. "I'm not some stupid fourteen-year old anymore,"

"Yet you got caught," Wolf shot back. Xander tried to shrug.

"I hesitated and I didn't expect anyone else to be here. Remind me to kill that informant," he said casually. K-unit were taken aback, they were soldiers and had seen some pretty heavy stuff. But a nineteen year old talking about offing someone as if he didn't care? They glanced at each other and the message was clear.

What had happened?

Over 100km away a phone called was made. The man making it was using a disposable phone that would be destroyed immediately after. The number being called wasn't real the call would be re-directed through over a dozen other lines and four countries before it was connected.

"What?" the woman on the other end of the line had no time for greetings or small talk.

"We haven't heard from X,"

"We knew that was a chance,"

"What do we do?"

"Order 42," there was a click as the woman hung up. The man sighed and snapped the phone in half. Order 42 it was.

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_Ok I'm not really happy about this chapter. One because it was really hard for me to write, Two it's really short. I have a good feeling about the next chapter though. By the way the measure in the last paragraph is totally made up. I live in Australia so I have no idea where 100km would get you in Europe. For me it's about the distance to a really good surfing spot on our south coast. *shrug* I can't be bothered going on google earth right now. _


	3. Chapter 3

Dear all my faithful readers (if you read this of course),

First off, I am so sorry. I know I've been horrible and by horrible I mean not updating anything in months.

I have no excuse other then school work and exams.

However, now it is holidays and I am bored.

But I'm finding it hard to write anything because I can't focus on one story, so I've put a poll up so you guys can decide. Once I have a clear winner I promise to devote my time to the story and if the results come in quick enough I'll have an update before the end of the month.

But of course, to get results you guys need to vote. So please please please help me out here, and I hope that what I post in return will be good.

Thanks guys

much love

aussie


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